Figs of Imagination
by Princess Melon
Summary: Mid-October. Viona Nicolet comes from the Netherlands to help out her father's failing ball joint doll company. How does she do this? By making a crisp deal with the host club. TamaHaru OCxOC OCxKaoru
1. Chapter 1

Figs. of Imagination by Tori Lo

It was pouring rain outside, lumbering droplets hitting the limousine's windows and making everything look blurry. Viona Nicolet sighed and laid back in her seat, the black leather making soft squeaking sounds. Today was her first day at Ouran High school.

Viona had heard plenty of things from her father about the school, blabbering on and on about it's prestigiousness. Viona didn't want to go, and his jabber only vexed her more.

It wasn't because she didn't like the school—heaven's no!—it was because it was mid-October, one of the worst times to transfer to a new school in Japan. October was the month centered around the holiday _Halloween_, and a Halloween without friends or people you know can be rough. Coming to a new school, having previous knowledge of absolutely no one, and then having to celebrate something as communic as Halloween, was dreadful in Viona's mind.

She would've loved Halloween if it weren't for these minor set-backs—all the dressing up made Viona's head rush—and probably would've gone all out on her costume this year. Being rich was such a huge plus when it came to things like Halloween costumes.

"We're here, Ma'am," the driver said in English after he stopped the car. "Best be hurrying, too; there are cars behind us."

"Quite right." Viona exited the car and tried not to slam it. A few seconds later the limo pulled away from the dry-zone, another one riding in. Feet in a scuttle, her uniform's ruffles flowing and annoying, Viona turned and started climbing the dozen stairs. After taking the first five steps, Viona could feel a delicate arm wrap around her waist and feel herself spinning around—dangerous acrobats on these steep stairs. She was rested and held close to a blond-haired, purple-eyed young man, face inches from her face and aura sparkling. She thought the sparkles were too much.

"You, Princess... Are you new? Please allow my princely self to show you around," the boy said, voice low and velvety. It didn't go too well with his face and she immediately began criticizing this man. Who was he? And why was he doing this this to her? ...Did he just call her a princess?

"Flattery will get you nowhere fast," came her sharp, quick reply. Viona freed herself from his grasp and returned to her stair-climbing. When she heard a dramatic outcry she whizzed around to see the boy feigning broken. It made a smile come to her lips, watching the scene.

"Such cruelty!" He clutched his heart and bent down dramatically, as if crying. Was this supposed to be a display show put on for chummy newcomers? As if I'd fall for it, she told herself, but couldn't help but smile at the young man's show.

"Who are you?"

At once, the boy was upright and handsome-looking again, as if nothing 'cruel' had ever happened. "Suoh Tamaki. You are?" He took a few steps closer, right knee kneeling and left arm outstretched towards her. Viona laughed lightly, giving in a little to the performance.

"Nicolet Viona." Her reply was just as flat as before, but wasn't holding even tenth the acidity. Tamaki bowed lower, and Viona bowed back, rising first. "Are you done?" He looked up at her, eyes a bit wide, ends of his lips pulling down slightly. Viona ignored it and smiled. "That was a nice little performance, there, Suoh-san. Well rehearsed; do you have to do it every time someone new comes?" she continued innocently.

In the blink of an eye Tamaki was in the nearest corner, sobbing and what was called 'depression lines' looming over his head. Was that a mushroom, too? "Oh, you alright?" Her question was flat, not at all holding honesty in them.

"What happened now?" Viona turned her vision towards the lower stairs, where stood a feminine boy with brown chin-length hair.

"I beg your pardon?" Viona frowned and scowled. Who was he?

The boy sighed and took a few more steps up. "Has this guy been bothering you?" Tamaki spun around at the clearer voice of this boy and immediately latched onto him.

"Haruhi!" came his wail. "I haven't seen you in forever!" Haruhi seemed to have a deadpanned expression as she shoved Tamaki off.

"Why don't you leave people to their own business and stop bothering them?" he asked, pointing in Viona's general direction then letting his arm flop back down. At least he was being a whole less rude than Tamaki.

"What are you talking about?" Tamaki's whole face seemed to droop, genuine upset.

"You know what I mean. After last year I assumed you'd stop with that obvious flirting... but I guess you didn't after all." Haruhi was shaking his head, looking disappointed. Viona took this small dispute as her chance to escape. She quickly shifted away from the scene and headed for her classroom, being almost late for homeroom.

She had made it into class A1, and was actually pretty proud of that achievement. The next big thing was to stay in it. A steady pace was never Viona's specialty, preferring jolts and spurts of things. Like major studying for an exam, or suddenly running a marathon for no good reason.

When lunch came, there was a lot of chatter about something called the _Host Club_, and from what all the girls were saying—and heading to—it sounded like a bunch of bishonen in an empty music room whoring themselves out. It wasn't exactly that, Viona knew, but that's sure what it sounded like. On her first day, though, the host club didn't sound like something Viona wanted to visit. Instead, she saved it for another day, like her second day.

* * *

It was just starting to get dark when Viona arrived home. The rain had stopped halfway through the ride, and the clouds were just beginning to part. "I'm home, Father!" she called as the servants changed her clothing right there in the foyer. They all spoke a very fast Japanese that always made Viona think twice about what they were saying. None of them spoke Dutch or English, which meant there'd be no guests over from the Netherlands during her stay, she guessed.

"Welcome home, Viona, _mijn snoepje!_ How was your first day at school? Was Ouran the right choice?" Viona's father, Bonifaas, walked in the room just in time to have her fully dressed in house clothes. He wore a thick housecoat and open-toed slippers—God forbid him wear closed ones!—and brandy in his left hand. The two of them walked together into the parlor, sitting in lavish chairs before the fireplace.

"It was alright. There were some interesting characters," she said, remembering that morning with crisp vision—how could she forget? "There's a club there called the host club. A lot of the girls are into it, so I'm thinking about checking it out tomorrow at lunch."

Bonifaas was nodded along with his daughter, intently listening. Upon hearing the news of the host club, his eyes glistened. "Ah, yes. I've heard only great things about that club, _mijn pop_," he said. "I'd like it if you got into it, too, please?"

Viona shook her head softly. "I make no promises, Father." She looked from the fire to her father's eyes. They seemed to be pleading. What could he have hiding up his sleeve.

"_Tevreden_? Please?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What could you gain from be becoming friendly with these host club members, _Vader?_Papa?" Bonifaas hunched down, swishing what was left of his drink around the glass. He glanced up at her.

"Economic profits," he stated flatly. He was probably where Viona got her monotone from.

Viona relaxed in her chair when she heard her father's words. "That's fine, then, Father. Do you know what families are important?" Bonifaas nodded his head from side to side, making a 'sort of' kind of gesture. "Well? Who?"

"Ohtori, Suoh, and Hitachiin. The Haninozuka and Morinozuka families used to be a part of it, too, but they've graduated." Viona nodded her head along with her father, her heart sinking every time. Ball-joint dolls don't go far in this world, so she knew her father had to make as many connections as he could. That, and try to have as many people as possible be in debt to him. This itself wasn't an easy task, though, especially when his only daughter was all the way in the Netherlands.

"I get it," she said, and sulked away to her room.

* * *

Now that she was mentally prepared, Viona held true to her words and visited the host club. It was lunchtime, and the halls leading to the third floor's music room were a bit crowded with girls bustling and chatting away. As she was about to enter the room, her hand wavered, much to the jostle of the girls behind her.

That Tamaki man was going to be in here, her father had told her. Suoh. Suoh. _Suoh_. He frightened her a bit, but hopefully where one was so would the other: Haruhi-kun. With hope, that Haruhi boy would be there, too.

"Move aside and let us through, gaijin. You're wasting our lunchtime," one of the girls behind Viona pushed past her and went through the doors. Viona watched in dismay as the girls she was holding up walked past her, a few giving her frustrated looks, others looking sadly at her, as if pitying. She frowned as she walked back in front of the doors and followed.

Inside the third floor music room, where she's heard 'that's where the magic begins,' only a meager three times—mostly from first years like herself—was a swash of good-looking young men being crowded by women. For a few moments she stared at it in subtle awe, before she actually began taking in who was there and not what.

As her eyes scanned, she hadn't noticed a black haired glasses-man stride beside her. That is, until she looked in his pure direction. He smiled. She frowned. Awkward emotions began to fill the air for a few seconds. "Ah, hello," she finally said, coughing a bit.

"Are you alright? Do you need something to drink?" he asked, motioning to a cart full of teas, treats, and other good-stuff-fluff.

"Ah. Um. No, thank you." Viona looked nervously at the cart for some long seconds, both wanting and fearing it.

"You're new?" It sounded more like a statement than a question, but Viona nodded anyway. "Nicolet Viona, year one, class A. Transfer student from the British School of Amsterdam..." As this man began listing off her history, Viona loss attention and began wandering. The man obviously wouldn't notice, considering he was paying close attention to his clipboard.

It was true, that this host club had beautiful young men, and that she looked at them positively. What use could they possibly provide her with?

"Nicolet-san?" Viona turned her head and saw the black haired glasses-guy looking at her. He looked disappointed. She didn't want to go back, already getting tired of the fakeness he seemed to ooze. She turned from him and started walking towards the door. This wasn't a good idea to come, she had no plan as to how to get friendly with the host club. Her father might be disappointed in her tonight, but that'd be okay. She'd have a plan tomorrow.

* * *

Struck with host club infiltration ideas for the rest of the day and all night, it was hard for Viona to do her homework. The next day, Viona decided a time without customers to visit the host club: morning. Thanks to her female, ogling, and ultimately idiotic classmates, Viona knew a lot about the club and their members than she'd ever hoped. After some simple eavesdropping and being snooty, she'd come up with a perfect plan for infiltration.

That morning started earlier, and she left for school before her father left for work. "Mighty early to be goin' ta school, wouldn't you think, Ma'am?" the driver said as he pulled away. It was a silver Lexus car today.

"Thanks for the reminder, Vanier, but I have plans this morning."

"Is that so? Well, then, I wish you good luck. By the way, Halloween's coming up. How about doin' something with the servants and I if you've got no plans?" Vanier's head turned slightly to give Viona more notice, and she shrugged.

"If I'm not busy, but there'll be no promises."

"Got'cha." The rest of the ride was silent, and comfortable. As the car rode up to the front stairs, Viona noticed there was practically no one else there. Mostly the nerds and overachievers. "Pick up late or regular time, Ma'am?"

"Uh. Between the bunch?"

"Righty. See you this afternoon, Ma'am!" Viona closed the door and Vanier drove away. Immediately after he was out of sight, Viona started heading for the third floor music room.

As she had predicted, thanks to the knowledge of her classmates and of her own, there were no customers there. In fact, the area was like a dead zone, no doors anywhere for the next hundred feet.

Gently, Viona knocked on the pristine white doors, the knock itself echoing in the empty halls. After some time there comes a faint, "Come in!" and then a tumbling sound. Viona hurriedly opens the door to see Tamaki toppled over a beautiful red velvet chair, lavishly carved and accented. Besides him, the scene was staged perfectly, the other six members surrounding the chair in presentable stances. The fact they were quite presentable and even attractive in those stances made the whole scene alluring, Viona wishing she could be the centerpiece of it all. It was a wild girl's dream, though, and easily cast from her mind in whole.

"It's Nicolet-san," the black haired glasses-guy said. Viona rolled her eyes and took a few more steps within the music room, door closing behind her. Right after the door closed the beautiful scene unfolded, like a beached walrus flopping around after it's slumber. "What would you like?" he continued.

Gaining her 'corporate' posture, Viona coughed and breathed in. It was taking a lot more guts and confidence than she had initially thought it would. "I'd like to propose a business offer to the host club," she said flatly, "but first, I'd like to get to know your names." Knowing the names was one thing—which she had—but knowing who was who was another thing. The glasses-guy raised his eyebrows and a grin appeared on his lips.

"You should already know me!" Tamaki said, straightening up and cleaning up his school uniform. "And Haruhi, too!" Tamaki grabbed Haruhi, resting his arm around his shoulder.

Moving on...

Viona's eyes turned from host to host as they named themselves off and explained a small bit of information about themselves—namely, their 'type.'

"Ichirou Kaito-san, considerate type, and Jean-Pierre Leo-san, foreign type, are part timers, and aren't working today," Kyouya said flatly, looking at his clipboard. He raised his head to look at the closed laptop on a table, shook his head lightly, and went back to the clipboard.

After the naming business was done, Kyouya got down to the offer. He and Viona sat down at a table, most of the hosts behind him, looming over his shoulders to look at the laptop screen. "What sort of offer would you like to make, Nicolet-san?"

"One that's based off of ball joint dolls." Viona's hands were folded together on the table, her legs crossed and moving back and forth under the table. She tried to hold confidence to maintain that professional air. Kyouya looked incredulously at her, laughing slightly.

"Impossible. There's no way we could make any profit off of a deal with the daughter of a ball joint doll company. Don't think I don't know who you are, Nicolet-san."

"Oh, I know. I planned on it, because then I wouldn't have to do so much explaining. But... um, I fail to see how there'll be no profit for you."

The smile on Kyouya's lips didn't grow, nor fade. "What could we gain? What could a host club gain from ball joint dolls?"

Viona huffed and looked down at her hands. "Well... My father's been loosing some business from our Netherlands BJD plant, and hoped to make it up with even massiver scaled sales here in Japan. What could be a greater opportunity, for both of our sides?" She tilted her head from side to side, thinking over her plan again. "My father's company will supply privatelly modeled ball joint dolls to the host club for a cheap price, where you can steadily sell them to your customers."

"Still not enough sales. This is a school full of rich people; every customer will eventually have a doll of all the hosts. It's not steady enough to base a deal on."

"Okay, okay." Viona put her right hand to her temple, still thinking, head down. "Dolls will only become available to the most loyal and frequent customers. And even then, they'll receive a random host? Also, our company can create limited edition type clothing for exclusive purchase. How about that?"

"I think you have trouble with your Japanese." Kyouya grinned and Viona frowned.

"Don't make fun of me, this is off topic. ...And, if you do care to mind, I'm very good at writing kanji."

"Kanken?"

"Level four," Viona said proudly.

"JPLT?"

"Agh. Level two; my listening drags me down." Viona rolls her eyes nervously, as if passing the fact aside.

"Deal."

"Hm?" Viona, caught off guard, stared at him, straight faced. "Deal? ...You agree to the deal?"

"I do, but we'll have to change some things about the dolls."

"Great! Any chance of me staying around and doing other stuff during host club hours?" Viona stood excitedly, pushing the chair away from her.

"You can—if you want to be harassed by our customers for being close to us." Kyouya had on a glass smile, perfectly acted out down to the eyes. Viona felt like hitting him.

"Right. I'll go, then. I'll come by tomorrow morning and we can discuss this further." Viona turned to go but Tsururu Kasai, artistic type, threw a piece of paper at the back of her head. She zipped around, eyes narrowed, but was surprised to see Kasai staring at her.

"You can't date any of the host club's permanent members." Kasai's face was serious, and looked contrasting to how he was when he introduced himself.

A bit unnerved, Viona nodded. "Right." And then left.


	2. Chapter 2

Figs. Of Imagination by Tori Lo

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Uh... Ah..."

"Please? I know you've been hanging out with those hosts lately, and I know I might not compare with them visually... but I'm an honest person who'll truly care for you."

"Hm..."

"We can talk about it another time. I know you need to go. _Ja ne_, Viona-san."

"Oh, _goedheid!_" Viona shouted and fell back onto a bench after Hayase Goro had left. "Hayase-kun's a good boy... But I'm not a very straight person." Her voice was sullen and a bit distracted. It's been a week since she's started working with the host club, a week and few days since she's come to Ouran. To not hold up any drama at this new school, Viona promised herself while on the plane here to not be a dating fanatic, as she once was back in the Netherlands. "What should I do?"

"Get to the host club, is what you should do." Viona jumped up and spun around, but saw nothing except a rose hedge. She was in the gardens, since Goro had brought her here.

"Who's there?" she asked, both frightened and curious. A blonde boy with green eyes poked his head around the nearest hedge corner.

"It's me, Leo Jean-Pierre. Nice to meet you, Viona Nicolet." Leo came out from behind the roses and stuck out his hand. Viona shook it cautiously. His English was pretty good.

"Where were you all this time, Leo?" she asked, taking a seat back on the bench. Leo sat next to her.

"I spent my summer in France, and decided to stay a bit longer."

"Since when was a whole month and a half considered _a bit_?" she said accusingly, looking up at him.

Leo laughed and looked down at his clasped hands between his open knees. He had a very casual feeling to him, and Viona liked it. "You got me there. ...I lied to my parents so I could stay longer. But after much pestering, Tamaki got me to come back."

"Is that so?" Viona leaned forward and rested her face in her palms, elbows on her knees. Leo nodded, leaning back and looking up at the half-clouded sky. "That Tamaki fellow is sure a handful." Leo laughed.

"Indeed, he is! But also a very valuable and trustworthy friend."

There was silence for a long time, the both of them lost among their thoughts. Suddenly, Leo's cell phone began to ring. He answered it, and when he was done he stood up. "Tamaki's getting a beating from Kyouya because we're not there," he said, laughing.

"Good point; why are you here? Shouldn't you be tending to guests?"

"I'm a part timer; I'm allowed to take long breaks. But the customers are all gone now, and Kyouya wants to talk about a new line of BJD costumes with you. He just wants to yell at me for leaving."

* * *

"Where were you two?" Kyouya asked, eyes narrowed and lips a firm line. He was extremely unhappy.

"I got bored with all those fake ladies and decided to take a break." Leo laughed and took a seat at one of the couches. Kyouya didn't even bother arguing with him, turning his frustration onto Viona instead.

"I had some sketches done, and the twins sent it to their mom for accenting. Have this new limited line of clothing ready for purchase by next week." Kyouya gave Viona a file of papers, then scribbled off something on his clipboard and gave that to her, too. "This is the price I'm asking for them."

"Sixty-two thousand yen? Are you crazy? That's an insanely sensed price for a _whole new line_ of BJD clothing!" Viona was about to fall to her feet but the twins hurriedly placed a seat beneath her.

"No, it's not. We're selling them for over a hundred thousand per costume, and we've already done all the designing. All you need to do is make them."

"Well, yes, but our costumes are all done by hand! And we use real clothing material, not that cheap stuff most companies use."

"Then I guess the deal is off?"

Grumbling, Viona slipped the papers into her bag. "No, it's still on. I'll see what I can do, but could I have someone come with me?" She looked around the room for volunteers, but saw none. She frowned and sulked, looking back up at Kyouya. "Either you choose or I do." Kyouya rolled his eyes.

"One of the twins should go. Their mom was the one who made the accents and corrections, so they're genuinely her costume designs." Kyouya turned his head to look at the twins, who were sitting on a couch chatting with Haruhi and eating cake.

"Okay, Hikaru or Kaoru?" Viona started playing eenie-meenie-minie-mo, bubble-gum-shoe, and other picking games with the twins. "The games choose you, Kaoru," she said flatly, and picked up her bag. She turned to Kyouya. "Is that all? Or do you want to bitch at me more?" There was a wave of mixed emotions across the room.

"That is all." Kyouya grinned and began typing furiously on his laptop.

"Oh, great, I gave him more info so he's going to database it. _Great_," she said lowly and turned to leave. "C'mon, Kaoru. Don't care if you want to go or not. You're coming." With much regret and dullness, Kaoru Hitachiin unwillingly separated with his brother—in a for sure twincest act—and left with Viona.

"See you tomorrow, Viona!" Leo called in English.

She nodded along with him. "Yep!"

* * *

"Is your father scary?" Kaoru asked as he walked closely behind Viona. They were walking up the steps to her mansion, followed by a few maids and servants.

Viona laughed at him. "Are you kidding? He's the most fearsome person ever! He'll break you apart and eat you from the inside out!" Viona saw Kaoru flinch and she laughed, soaking in his fear. "Wishing your brother were here?" The door was opened for her and, like usual, the maids and servants began changing her clothes. For prudent's sake, they had Kaoru scuffle away into the parlor room.

"Welcome home, Viona! How's _mijn poppetje?_" Bonifaas walked in the foyer, dressed the same as always, walking the same as always, drinking the exact same kind of brandy as always. He noticed Viona's slight scowl. He frowned and asked, "Is something the matter?"

Viona shook her head. "Nothing's the matter, exactly. To be honest, Kyouya today wanted us to produce a new line of clothing for those host dolls." She took out the folder Kyouya had given her, and her father took it from her fingers immediately.

"That's great! _Fantastisch!_" Bonifaas had great joy plastered all over his face as he flipped through the designs. "You know what? I think these plans are absolutely doable!" He handed the file back over to Viona. She continued to frown. "What's wrong?"

"It's sempai's asking price..." Viona's voice wavered a bit, and she almost flew the papers down on the floor to safely hug her father.

"What is he asking?"

"Father, you knew what you were walking into when we made that deal with an Ohtori. You _knew!_"

"That I did. Answer me, Viona, what's the asking price?"

Viona raised her right hand to her temple, thinking and hoping. "Sixty-two thousand yen. For the whole line."

At once, Bonifaas turned and walked away, off to his office. "We'll see how lucky Kyouya is... and us, mijn_ snoepje._"

"Ap, ap, ap! One last thing, Father!" Viona walked after her father, waving an arm in the air to get his attention. Vaguely, Bonifaas turned to look at his daughter. She had his attention, so she continued, "Kaoru Hitachiin is in the parlor, and he's been brought here to converse with you."

"To _converse_ with me? … Did Kyouya send him?" Viona nodded. Bonifaas sighed and combed through his graying hair with his left hand. "Send a brat to do your dirty work—Kyouya, he knows how I think."

"What was that, Father?" Viona leaned into her father some more but he pulled away, maintaining a distance.

"Ah, yes. Does Kaoru know English?"

Viona shook her head. "I'm not sure, so I guess we're the only English speakers in this mansion except for Vanier."

"Which you like to openly talk to in English as often as possible—yes, I remember Vanier." Bonifaas nodded along with Viona's words, then perked up. "Isn't he your driving instructor, as well as your valet?"

"That and more, Father. He's also my personal butler. I've known him since I was five." Viona beamed at her father, proud she's known someone for most of her life.

"And I've known him since he was a week old. Viona, go see Kaoru. Tell him I don't feel like talking, and apologize. We'll serve him dinner tonight, and then send him home right away after. I won't be at the dinner table tonight, and for that I apologize, too. Work is of highest priority, since it is what puts that food on the table." His hand cupped Viona's chin. "You understand, I hope?" Viona turned her chin and began walking to the parlor.

"_Ik begrijp, Vader._ I understand."

* * *

Despite it being an old Western-style mansion, it was in tip-top shape, the stairs not even creaking as Viona and Kaoru made their way up them. Viona's room was on the top floor, the third floor, and there weren't many stairs. "How much English do you know, sempai?" Viona looked back at her guest as she continued walking. They just reached the third floor's stairs.

"Not a lot. It's one of my favorite subjects, though." Kaoru looked around as he followed, trying to memorize the area he might be treading in the future. Who knew?

"Ah. Is that so?" Viona made a mental note to tell her father about Kaoru's English ability, and then opened her bedroom door. It was decorated with all sorts of signature Japanese items, as well as Scandinavian. There was a glass cupboard full of Japanese treats (mostly food drops), and she had strange toys and figurines everywhere.

"Strange room," came Kaoru's instant notice. Viona rolled her eyes and went to her computer desk. Kaoru began to wander around the already fully furnished, fully decorated room. It was like Viona had always lived there instead of just moving in. "_Oi!_ You can't leave sushi out like that!" he shouted, pointing to displayed sushi on top of her computer screen.

"Hey, yourself, Kaoru-sempai. Those aren't real sushi. They're _candles_," Viona explained and picked up a _tamago roll_. She threw it at Kaoru, who caught it, and began inspecting it thoroughly. "And can you stop touching and looking at stuff?" She turned around in her chair and caught Kaoru opening the glass cupboard, inspecting the contents. "Sempai!"

Kaoru jolted away, eyes wide and looking at Viona. "What?" he asked, as if he had suddenly set off a trap. She sighed and got up, walking over to the cupboard.

"What would you like?" she asked, shuffling through the cupboard's contents.

"You have a lot of junk food, Viona-kohai. If you keep eating all that you're going to get fat." Kaoru pointed at a shiny gold and red tin. It was a box of _Jigoku no Geki Kara_ food drops.

"They're not just for me! I bought them because I thought I'd have some friends from the Netherlands who'd come to visit, but I guess no one wants to come just yet." Viona handed the food drops to Kaoru, who pointed at a shiny black and red bag.

"Is that so?" She pulled out the bag, revealing it to be _Tyrant Habanero Original Flavor_ ring chips. "Thank you, Kohai." Kaoru took the bag, pulled up a chair, and began eating.

"You like spicy stuff?" Viona watched Kaoru eat the spicy food drops and ring chips with ease.

"That's right. But this isn't very spicy," Kaoru said, popping a food drop into his mouth. Viona holds out her hand, and Kaoru casually lands a food drop into her palm. Cautiously, she puts it in her mouth. In almost an instant, she runs out of her room, mouth on fire and tears ineffectively trying to douse them.

* * *

"I'm really sorry, sir, about the Miss's misfortune and inability to dine with you this evening. The dinner is ready, however. Would you like to stay and eat or go home?" A maid stood in front of Kaoru, she was escorting him down the foyer stairs.

"I think I'd like to go home," Kaoru said, a bit disappointed in Viona. Hopefully, he'd be able to blabber her out the next day.

"I understand. I will get Viona's personal valet to take you home." The maid turned and left soon after, returning a few minutes later with Vanier.


	3. Chapter 3

Figs. Of Imagination by Tori Lo

It was in the late morning when Viona woke up to the overbearing ringing sounds coming from her black Mickey Mouse alarm clock. Her tongue was still sore, and she could faintly feel the dead tongue cells still caked on top of the newly generating ones. "What an awful feeling," she mumbled as she got ready for school.

It was about fifteen minutes behind Bonifaas' exit when Viona left for school, hoping she wouldn't be made fun of by the host club for her stupidity of the previous night. She shook her head lightly as she entered the car.

"How's your tongue, Ma'am?" Vanier turned his back and looked at her, then looked forward. It was the silver Lexus again, and Vanier could see Viona's despairing face easily from the rear-view mirror. Her lips pursed and she looked out her passenger window.

"It's fine. It's hard to taste through that layer of dead cells, but it's fine." Viona let out a light sigh, and Vanier started the car and drove away. It wasn't a very long drive, and it had been about an hour after the sun had first risen. "Does the sun look different in Tokyo than it does in Amsterdam, Vanier?" It was a worthless question, pure curiosity.

Vanier nodded, not noticing Viona's lack of attention. "I think it is, Ma'am. There's the skyline, and the way the sun heats up everyone's morning features..." Vanier spared a backwards glance at Viona. "I've noticed you're different these past days; since you joined the host club."

"I suppose that's true." There was silence, then, and Viona let out another sigh. "Give me a yes or a no, Vanier. Now."

"What for?" It was a red light, and Vanier turned around to see Viona in full.

Viona looked forward at Vanier and there was a long pause. "Just tell me yes or no." Green light.

"Well, if you'd tell me what this is about I could give you a good answer." Vanier chuckled and a few minutes passed before he pulled up to Ouran's front steps. "We're here, Ma'am."

"Should I start dating or not?"

Vanier nodded his head from side to side, thinking about it, and then looked back at Viona. His face was serious, and his lips were a firm line. "That would depend on your own feelings. If you like someone, go for it. If you don't, then don't. As I've always said, let your feelings guide you, Viona." A hot blush appeared on Viona's upper cheeks. Vanier turned back around and nudged his chin towards the school. Viona gladly left, slamming the door behind her.

When Vanier and the silver Lexus were out of sight, she said, "You've always told me to let my emotions rule me, Vanier. But it's because of that that I'm like this," and turned around and started climbing.

* * *

The normally quiet third floor music room was different from how it usually was in the morning. Viona had made it on time to the discussion meeting with Kyouya, but made hardly any progress with the twins making fun of her last night's "spicy food sputter." Kyouya canceled and rescheduled for that evening at his mansion. Tamaki was also to come, but only because he begged and pulled up his role as president. It was an utter miracle that Tamaki would pull up something like that, considering he's usually an idiot.

"Do you want to try these _hot cakes_?" Hikaru teased, swirling a fork of warm pancakes around Viona's face.

"Or are they _too spicy_ for you?" Kaoru continued, doing the same thing as his brother. Viona glared at the two of them, their teasing absolutely annoying.

"You two make no sense. How can pancakes be spicy?" she spat and stood up suddenly. "I'm leaving. _Sayo._" And within the beat she turned and left.

"It wasn't even that spicy," Kaoru said, remembering the taste from last night.

"It really wasn't," Hikaru agreed. The two of them crossed their arms.

"How would you know, Hikaru? You weren't there." Tamaki frowned, sticking up for the new friend.

"That's right, Hikaru." Haruhi was sitting across from them, sipping her tea quietly. "Why do you guys always have to be a bug?" Hikaru blushed and stood. He was about to say something, but instead he walked away.

"Ah, Hikaru?" Kaoru followed his brother, and the both of them left the third floor music room.

"What strange twins," Leo said, lounging in his luxury chair. Itsuki Hiraku, intelligent type, perked up from his textbook upon hearing Leo's comment.

"That reminds me. When is Kaito-sempai coming back?" Hiraku asked.

"What? He isn't back yet?" Tamaki shouted, absolutely flabbergasted. He zoomed over from his seat next to Haruhi to Hiraku's place at a far away desk. "Where did he go?"

"I thought it was obvious he wasn't back yet since he's not here, Tamaki," Leo said, holding his head in his hand disappointingly.

Horror stricken, Tamaki pulled out his cell phone and called Ichirou Kaito's home. It rang three times, and then the answering machine picked up. At once, Tamaki was in his corner of despair. Leo sighed and pulled out his phone. "Did it ever occur for you to call his cell?" There were a few rings, but eventually no answer. "Hm, that's strange..." He looked down at his cell phone's display screen, scrutinizing it critically. "Kaito-kun always had his cell on and fully charged..."

"It's no use; Kaito has fled us! He is nothing; no more! There's absolutely nothing we can do, is there, Leo?"

"Sempai is a very unique child, isn't he?" Hiraku wondered, whispering to Haruhi on the side.

Her deadpanned face said it all, and Hiraku went back to his books, not wanting to bother with the useless quarrel. Haruhi strode over to Tamaki's corner of woe, and gave him a light hit on the top of his head. But despite the lightness and tease that came along with her hit—more like tap, really—Tamaki took the act of violence as something very crude. "Haruhi!" he stuttered, holding his head gingerly, crying. "What was that for?" Haruhi was taken aback by by the dramatization of his display, and she frowned.

"Think a bit. Instead of crying like a baby, what would Sempai normally do?" she asked, looking down at Tamaki with an iron stare. He cowered underneath her, but when he got the idea, he perked up and grabbed her. He was suddenly happy again.

"You're right, Haruhi! Let's go on a 'Kaito Hunting Trip'! This weekend!" he declared to the club members who were still in the room, giving them all a wink.

Haruhi smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, as if it were nothing. "That's the good Sempai," she said and left. Leo, being a part timer, didn't really understand the meaning of it, but the other members did.

* * *

"I know I'm weak to spicy things, but that's going too far," Viona said through pouting lips and drooping eyes. If she were a dog, her ears'd be dragging on the ground and her tail'd be between her hind legs.

"What was that, Nicolet-san?" Viona perked up and stopped gazing out the window. Beside her was her classmate, Naraba Satomi. The two of them weren't really friends, but over the past week and a half they've become accustomed to the occasional conversation. Viona looked forward again, the rest of the class coming back from break. She just wanted to be back in bed and flop around.

"It's nothing, Naraba-san. Just some club troubles." Viona waved her hand lightly, dismissing the problem Satomi seemed to pick up on.

Satomi stared at Viona's plain, unmoving face with scrutiny. "You're in a club?" she asked. Viona's face tightened and she looked up at Satomi. "I didn't know. What club are you in?" Satomi was a regular at the host club, so she'd know if Viona were there or not. And she didn't want to be the aim for bullying just because she made a _business deal_ with the host club. It was silly.

"Ah. Uh... um... The, uh..." Viona was at a loss of words, and she didn't know what club she'd use as cover. Viona hadn't done very much looking around the clubs department, since all her father needed her to be in was the host club. So she didn't know what other clubs there were, besides the host club. "Um..."

"Well, Nicolet-san?" Did Satomi already have a good guess? Viona panicked and she suddenly stood from her seat.

"I'll be right back! I, um, need to use the bathroom!" she said loudly, and left, a few people quietly laughing at her.

Viona quickly wandered the halls towards the third floor music room, trying to be careful no one saw her. She wasn't sure whether anyone was in there or not, but it was safer to check. When she latched onto the handle, and it didn't move, Viona kicked the door angrily. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! Now what do I do?" she whined and sank down to the floor. "Naraba-san's going to find me out, and then there'll be no end to the bullying! Ugh." She sulked, and considered not going back to class.

"You're Nicolet Viona, right?" Viona turned around and saw a young man with black hair and sharp, handsome facial features. He looked a bit scary.

"That's right," she said and stood up to face him. "What about you? Who are you, and why are you here?"

"Ah, that's right. I'm Hoshiiro Kazuki. A third year. Right now is my club dedication class, so I'm basically free to do as I please." At this, Viona perked up.

"Club dedication? Does that mean you run a club?" she asked, grabbing onto his blazer and pulling down on him. Kazuki was quite taken aback and grabbed her wrists, easing her to let go.

"That is correct," Kazuki said, eying her closely. Viona let go and she stared up at him.

"Let me join." Her voice was demanding and her eyes unwavering. He laughed at her.

"You don't even know what club this is and yet you still want to join? Weren't you in the host club--"

"_Shh!_ Be _quiet!_ I can't have anyone find out or else people will bully me, Hoshiiro-sempai." Viona had grabbed onto Kazuki's collar and pulled him down—which was quite far, since he was quite tall—and covered his mouth halfheartedly.

Kazuki pulled Viona's hand gingerly from his mouth. "Okay, okay, calm down. You can join my club, and come and go as freely as you want... On the condition you still participate in our events and activities." Kazuki raised his eyebrows and then knocked heads with Viona. She let go of Kazuki and fell back onto her bum. "Sorry about that, but it didn't seem you were going to cooperate. So how about it? Is it a deal?"

Grumpy now from a headache and sore forehead, she mumbled, "_Been making deals ever since I arrived here. Think anyone could give me a break?_"

Kazuki bent down. "Pardon me? What was that, Kohai?"

"Ah, um. Deal accepted," she sputtered and held out her hand. They had a civil handshake, and then Viona returned to class.

"Welcome back, Nicolet-san. Shuji-sensei just arrived—she's late. Anyway, what club are you in?" Satomi continued with her seemingly ruthless and cruel onslaught of questions. It wasn't really that way, Viona knew, but she felt Satomi did suspect something.

"Um..." It hit her then that she never found out the club's name. "Oh! I forget the name of it, but the president is Hoshiiro Kazuki-sempai. Do you know it?" Viona tried to use Satomi to her advantage.

Satomi stared at Viona dubiously. "Are you serious? You can't even remember you club's name? Are you stupid or what?"

"Hey! Don't call me stupid!" Viona puffed her cheeks in response. Satomi laughed.

"The club you're in is called the _Dark Magic Club_. I heard a third year named Hoshiiro Kazuki succeeded a graduate named Nekozawa Umehito over the spring break. I know you were looking for that sort of information, and now I've told you all I know. Shuji-sensei is starting class; please pay attention." Satomi turned from Viona to the front of the class. Viona stared at Satomi for a bit before, also, paying attention to the front of the class.

* * *

"You called me here today, right?"

"That's right, Hayase-san. I'd like to accept your offer. Let's go out." Viona smiled up at Goro, who towered over her. They were in the gardens again, near the rose maze, where they were last time. He grabbed her and swung her on his lap. Viona smiled and hung onto his neck. "Why did you choose me, Goro?" She looked up at him, the cloudy sky dampening the scene. He blushed when she called him by his first name.

"Um, er... I followed you around a bit, and paid a lot of attention to you during class... You're very cute, and you're an honest person..." He coughed. "I'm a bit embarrassed to explain this..." Viona smiled and gave him a peck on the lips. Goro blushed and averted his eyes.

"Goro, you're a very nice guy," Viona said and hugged him.


	4. Chapter 4

Figs. of Imagination by Tori Lo

As Viona climbed into the silver Lexus car, Vanier couldn't help but notice the huge grin on her face. "Something good happen today, Ma'am?" he asked as he started the car and pulled away from Ouran. Viona only smiled for a little bit before looking solemnly at Vanier.

"I followed my feelings, Vanier. That man, Hayase Goro-san... is a nice boy. I'm giving us some time together," she said, smiling again.

Vanier smiled, too, and then concentrated on the road. "Good for you, Ma'am! I'm glad you found solace in my advice, and I'm happy you're happy. As always." Viona nodded along with Vanier's words. She briefly went over some of her most precious memories with Vanier.

"Thank you, Vanier." There was an underlying tone of uneasiness, who's home laid in the pit of her stomach. Viona's relationship with Goro wouldn't last very long, Viona knew, and she also knew Goro's feelings would wither over the next few days. What Goro had was called a 'crush.' And crushes didn't last long. But, for whatever reason he liked her, she'd bask in the love while it lasted. Viona thought Goro was a nice boy, and deserved someone better than her. In the future, she could see herself falling head-over-heels for that sort of guy... but not now. Now was high school, where love rarely mattered in your overall life.

* * *

The sun had set not that long ago. Vanier drove up to the Ohtori house with ease and said, "Call me anytime and I'll be here within fifteen minutes, okay?"

"Sure thing," Viona replied and stepped out of the car. She was greeted by Kyouya's father, brothers, and Kyouya himself at the top of the stairs. After the formal greetings were done and they were heading inside for dinner, she quickly whispered, "Is Suoh-sempai here?" Kyouya nodded and led her to the dinning room.

The room was decorated in a minimalist style that Viona highly favored. Everything, down to the tablecloth, had a nice theme of nature colors mixed with the modern, minimal furniture and patterns. Tamaki was guided into the room by a maid, and took a hurried seat next to Viona.

"Viona! You're fashionably late, I see! Glad you could come."

Kyouya rolled his eyes. He sat across the table from Viona, face straight and sarcastic. He entwined his fingers in thought. "Did your father agree with the deal?"

Viona swayed her head side to side. "He asked to raise the price to sixty-five thousand instead," she declared, sipping the soup appetizer. Kyouya's eyes narrowed.

"Is that so?" Kyouya's glasses flashed in the light. Viona nodded. "I'll have to think briefly on that. Maybe tomorrow."

"Your decision will have to be made quick, you know, Ohtori-sempai. Halloween is coming up fast." Viona smiled a sly smile.

"I know, I know." Kyouya sounded exasperated.

"How about we just go with it, Mama? I'm sure it's well worth it in the end... Isn't that right, Viona?" Tamaki said happily, leaning in and adding on extra enthusiasm. He seemed like a little bit of sunshine in the gloomy pasture of business deals.

Kyouya stared at Tamaki for a bit, before facing Viona. "I'll give in this time, but only because Halloween's so close."

* * *

It was five days before Halloween, and the Host Club finally released their 'Halloween Special' clothing line for ball joint dolls. Each outfit was specially crafted and designed with the host's type and real life outfit in mind. Actually, the small costumes for sale were mere miniatures of what they'd be wearing in real life, and for the ball.

The Halloween ball was announced the day after the meeting at Kyouya's house, and it came as much of a surprise to most of Ouran's population.

Today was Friday, the day before the aforementioned 'Kaito Hunting Trip,' dedicated to finding out where Ichirou Kaito had run off to. It was after school and the Host Club was getting ready for their first overseas trip of the year.

"Where are we headed for, exactly?" Haruhi asked, falling back and resting on one of the sofas, his sleeping bag slipping frailly out of it's loaded place on his backpack.

"Hokkaido!" Tamaki replied loudly, standing in a victory pose. "Leo told me he knew Kaito was staying for summer vacation, and it's _Lake Shikotsu_!"

Viona turned to Leo who sat next to her at the table. "_Stalker much?_ … I heard Lake Shikotsu's a great place."

Leo sent a chilling glare at Viona in return. "I'm not a stalker!" he said. He looked around the room at his fellow hosts while he continued. "And yes, it is. Cold during the winter, warm during the summer... Great place! In fact, I have a villa up there somewhere, too."

"Is that why you're so close with Kaito?" the twins asked, prodding.

"Yeah, it is."

Kyouya walked in the main doors with a clipboard in hand, doing last minute mathematical calculations. He began pacing around the room. When he came to Viona, he looked down at her with his chiding, annoyed frown. "You're paying for yourself, right?" Viona rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I am. Do you think I'd take money away from this place? I'm not even a member!" Viona flailed her arms to add emphasis to her words. She didn't understand why she'd use any yen from the club's bank when she never even belonged to it in the first place. All she did was act as the medium between the Host Club and her father's BJD company.

Suddenly, Hiraku strode up behind Viona and said, "Actually, according to the club's roster, you're on it. Same level of authority as a host."

Viona jumped. "Eek! … Don't scare me like that, Itsuki-kun!"

"Maybe if you pronounced your words better I'd be nicer, Ms. Dull-with-Japanese," Hiraku snapped back and retreated back to his corner desk of books. Viona stared after him, shocked by his words, and sulked with her head down on the table.

"Cheer up, Viona. It'd be out of character for him to be nice to an unsmart person," Leo said, patting her back.

She sat up straight and stared horridly at Leo. "I'm not dumb, Leo-kun! I just... am bad at speaking Japanese." She grabbed a piece of paper out of no where and started writing down what she was saying, every stroke, every character being perfectly written. "Actually, I'm very good at Japanese when it comes to reading and writing. My dad's a pro, considering he's a foreigner, and it's because of him I'm so great!" With a feeling of being over triumphant, she slammed the pen down on the table and crossed her arms.

"And why is that?" Leo leaned on the table, chin resting on his palm. He was smiling a pristine smile. Viona didn't catch the flirting; she was too into being 'omnipotent.'

"Two years after my mom died, my dad couldn't handle taking care of me and the business at the same time, so I was shipped off to the Netherlands to live with my mom's parents. We kept writing letters, though, and as he excelled in his kanji, so did I." She laughed a bit, remembering her youthful days of bliss like an old Granny does her twenties. "I had to keep up with the language, right? So we'd always communicate in Japanese, even over the phone. I'd speak Dutch to everyone else, and my obaa-san would give me free English lessons."

"But weren't those such a drag?" he asked, knowing exactly what she meant. Then he laughed.

"They were!" She joined in the laughter. "But because of their consistency, I'm pretty good today."

Leo nodded. "You are, you are," he said slowly, having to seriously consider it, and whether it was a good or bad thing.

* * *

"To the plane!" Tamaki shouted, leading the hosts up the stairs and into the plane. Viona tagged along at the end, Leo in front of her and stopping every few seconds to halt her up.

Vanier, who Viona had to persuade to come, was helping carry the luggage into the plane. Fortunate for Viona, Kyouya was in a busy mood, so he hurriedly agreed and dismissed Viona's annoying complaints just to get her out of his face.

The inside of the plane was very luxurious, with seats of white leather and a plush white carpet. There were groups of chairs set up around a rectangular hardwood table, and another area where two leather sofas sat facing each other. The roof was low, but not so low that Vanier had to bend.

"Who's jet is this?" Viona asked, falling back on one of the sofas.

"I think it's Tamaki-sempai's," Kasai said, lazily taking a seat on the sofa opposite Viona.

"Is that so? … What do you think of it, Tsururu-sempai?"

Kasai shrugged his shoulders. "The modernism of the interior isn't very unique or creative, but more of a general interpretation of a private jet. Nothing fancy, nothing suiting Tamaki-sempai's personal needs, or such." He paused to take another swing around the plane with his eyes. "The special arrangement of bolted down furniture gives off the air of it being roomy, when in fact we're in a small inclosure."

"Oh?" the twins came and sat on the sofa Kasai was sitting on. "What about the lights?"

"They're not placed nicely." Kasai pointed to a row of lights along the side of the wall. "See how they give off a faint glow with a bluish tint? That makes them seem more like nightlights than real lights." He then pointed to the skylights. "Our only source of light during the day comes from the roof, which has thick glass windows. Not very smart, for a plane in general. Big windows can cause disasters, you know?"

Hikaru snickered. Kaoru said, "The type of report expected from such an artistic person like Kasai."

It wasn't a very long flight to Sapporo, and the drive up to Lake Shikotsu took only a couple of hours. Within the allotted time of six hours, the Host Club's hosts made it to Leo's villa by Lake Shikotsu for the weekend.

The three blue Honda Stepwgn's crunched through the dull forest path, and when they reached the paved parking lot, the servants jumped out of the third Stepwgn and got to work with the luggage.

Viona noticed Vanier's closeness with the servants already, making jokes and conversation, and she smiled as she watched them work. "Gotten close already?" Viona turned and saw Kaoru next to her, watching the same scene.

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, you could say that. Vanier's a very friendly guy. … Where's your brother, Kaoru-sempai? It's very unlike you two to be separated." She smiled slyly, as if knowing a great and precious secret.

"He went inside to claim a fantastic room. I'm here to make sure they don't break our stuff," he explained, hands on his hips. He looked sort of business-like, and Viona laughed. Kaoru shot her a displeased look. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. … Mind telling the servants I only want Vanier touching my things?" she asked before turning and leaving Kaoru by himself.

He shrugged. "I don't see why not," he mumbled, and walked over to the working group of serving adults. "Hey, _yakko_! Only Vanier-san is allowed to touch Viona's things." They nodded, and Vanier gave Kaoru a curious look.

As Kaoru walked away, Vanier nudged the closest servant. "Did Hitachiin-sama just refer to ojou-sama rather familiarly?" The servant nodded and got back to work, not wanting to be yelled at by the head butler for slacking off. "I wonder why?" he mumbled, and raised a hand to his chin. After a few seconds, he looked down at Viona's luggage, grabbed it, and carried it up to her designated room.

* * *

"Come in!" Viona shouted and sat up from the bed to greet her guest. Vanier opened the door and walked in with the biggest bag of luggage Viona had.

"Where do I put it, Ma'am?" he asked.

"Anywhere's fine." She swung her feet off the side of the bed and smiled happily at her personal butler. "Wanna take a break?" she asked.

"Actually, yes. I have something I want to talk to you about," he said. Vanier grabbed a random chair and sat on it, facing Viona. "What's your relationship with Kaoru Hitachiin?"

Viona gave him a weird look. "We're sort of... kind of friends, why?" Vanier shrugged, his eyes diverted. Viona rolled her eyes and gave him a playful tap on the head, knocking his hat off. "Please don't keep information from me, Vanier. … We may be friendly and close, but that doesn't wipe over the fact I'm the master and you're the servant." Vanier stood, nodded, and set the chair back. He bent down and grabbed his hat, setting it on his head.

"I know," he said and smiled down at her. "There's nothing for you to worry about, because there's nothing wrong or out of the ordinary."

"You sure?" she probed.

Vanier nodded and it gave Viona weird vibes. "Trust me." He bent down suddenly and gave her a peck on the forehead. "Closest friend, and dearest sister," he whispered in her ear, and then left. "I may just be overreacting," he said as he exited the building and fetched another of Viona's bags of luggage.

Viona gently touched the spot Vanier kissed. Tears started coming down her cheeks and her body lurched in a silent sob. "Vanier?"


End file.
